The Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz lists Lester Willis Young as one of the greatest tenor saxophonists of all time. He was bornon August 27, 1909 to Willis Handy andLizetta Young in Woodville, Mississippi. (3) Lester was taught how to play music by his father, Willis, who was a respected music teacher and also a very good musician. His father first taught him how to play the violin, then the trumpet and then the drums. Later he learned how to play the alto saxophone and decided to stay with that. Lester was known as a jazz legend for establishing much of the “hipster ethos” which came to be linked with jazz music. (2) Lester’s family moved to New Orleans and later to Minneapolis when Lester was 11-years old. His father formed a family band which played in both the vaudeville and carnival circuits. Lester played the saxophone and his brother played the drums. (2) In 1927, Lester, nicknamed “Prez”, dropped out his family’s band because he refused to go on a tour with them through the Southern United States.
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Young settled in Kansas City and finally rose to prominence in the Count Basie band. His approach to the saxophone was a relaxed style which greatly contrasted Coleman Hawkins’ aggressive style. Hawkins was considered the dominant tenor sax player of the day. As a matter of fact, Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in the Fletcher Henderson orchestra. This was short-lived as Young felt pressured to play like Hawkins. He eventually returned to the Basie band. . Young was not only noted for playing with the Count Basie Band, but he also recorded with jazz greats Billie Holiday and Nat “King” Cole. (1) He spent several years doing studio sessions and live broadcasts before he was inducted into the Army. Unlike many white musicians, such as Glen Miller and Artie Shaw, who were put in military band outfits, Young was put in the “regular Army” and not allowed to play his saxophone. While at Fort McClelland, Alabama, Young was found with marijuana and alcohol
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and it was also discovered that he was married to a white woman. In 1930, Young had met a young woman named Bess Cooper, and after a brief courtship, the two married. Bess was white and Jewish, and interracial marriages were almost unheard of at the time, but Young was not one to let societal conventions circumscribe his life. The following year a daughter, Beverly, was born. (3) Tragically, Bess died shortly after giving birth, and Young, unable to take an infant on the road with him, turned Beverly over to the Cooper family. For the rest of his life, Young would visitBeverly, when his schedule allowed, and sometimes even took herout on the road with him.(3) Young suffered racist mistreatment at Ft. McClelland because of this marriage and was eventually court-martialed. After serving 1 year in a detention barracks, Young was dishonorably discharged. His experience in the detention barracks (D.B.) inspired his composition of “D.B. Blues.” (1) Many jazz historians have argued that Young’s playing had an increasingly emotional slant to it after this experience and his post-war period featured some of his greatest renditions of ballads. Lester never recovered from his experience in the Army and his self-destructive habits had begun affect him. He was eating significantly less, drinking more and more, and suffering from liver disease and malnutrition. Lester Young eventually died on March 15, 1959 at the age of 49-years old. After his death, Wayne Shorter of Art Blackey’s Jazz Messengers composed a tribute called “Lester Left Town.” (1)
Biography of Lester Young
The Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz lists Lester Willis Young as one of the greatest tenor saxophonists of all time. He was born on August 27, 1909 to Willis Handy and Lizetta Young in Woodville, Mississippi. (3) Lester was taught how to play music by his father, Willis, who was a respected music teacher and also a very good musician. His father first taught him how to play the violin, then the trumpet and then the drums. Later he learned how to play the alto saxophone and decided to stay with that. Lester was known as a jazz legend for establishing much of the “hipster ethos” which came to be linked with jazz music. (2)
Lester’s family moved to New Orleans and later to Minneapolis when Lester was 11-years old. His father formed a family band which played in both the vaudeville and carnival circuits. Lester played the saxophone and his brother played the drums. (2) In 1927, Lester, nicknamed “Prez”, dropped out his family’s band because he refused to go on a tour with them through the Southern United States.
Young was not only noted for playing with the Count Basie Band, but he also recorded with jazz greats Billie Holiday and Nat “King” Cole. (1) He spent several years doing studio sessions and live broadcasts before he was inducted into the Army. Unlike many white musicians, such as Glen Miller and Artie Shaw, who were put in military band outfits, Young was put in the “regular Army” and not allowed to play his saxophone. While at Fort McClelland, Alabama, Young was found with marijuana and alcohol
Young suffered racist mistreatment at Ft. McClelland because of this marriage and was eventually court-martialed. After serving 1 year in a detention barracks, Young was dishonorably discharged. His experience in the detention barracks (D.B.) inspired his composition of “D.B. Blues.” (1) Many jazz historians have argued that Young’s playing had an increasingly emotional slant to it after this experience and his post-war period featured some of his greatest renditions of ballads.
Lester never recovered from his experience in the Army and his self-destructive habits had begun affect him. He was eating significantly less, drinking more and more, and suffering from liver disease and malnutrition. Lester Young eventually died on March 15, 1959 at the age of 49-years old. After his death, Wayne Shorter of Art Blackey’s Jazz Messengers composed a tribute called “Lester Left Town.” (1)
Works Consulted
1. "Lester Young." The Mississippi Writers and Musician Project of Starkville High School. Sept. 2005. 1 Mar. 2008 <http://shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/musicians/YoungLester.html>.
2. "Lester Young." University of Texas. 2 Mar. 2008 <http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~horshak/greatday/young.html>.
3. Radlauer, Dave. "Lester Young." Jazz Rhythm. 1 Mar. 2008 <http://www.jazzhot.bigstep.com/generic.html?pid=10>.